Bayern Munich recorded a crushing victory over 2.Bundesliga side SSV Ulm in the first round of the DFB Pokal this season — which just so happened to be Vincent Kompany’s first official game in charge. The Bavarians played an impressive game, looking both organized and confident, making the gap in quality between the two sides seem self-evident.
Thomas Müller, who scored twice and assisted Harry Kane for the 4-0, made a pragmatic assessment of the performance, saying, “We were serious, but not without mistakes. We wanted to implement a lot of what we have worked on in the last few weeks.” (via @iMiaSanMia)
On his own performance, he said that he feels good and is in good shape physically, and is happy to do his job. He also slipped in a subtle word about last season, which could easily be taken a dig at former coach Thomas Tuchel.
“If you look at how we work off the ball and the way we go into duels, you can notice a pattern and a difference to what we didn’t do so well last year. I thought it was a good performance today, even though there’s still room for improvement with the ball.”
While it might seem a little hasty to take away so many positives from a win over a 2nd division team, Müller has a point. Last year, Bayern Munich were knocked out in shocking fashion by 3rd division side Saarbrücken — it was a shambolic performance that would’ve been the end of any coach (except Tuchel).
In beating Ulm so comprehensively, Bayern Munich have taken a step towards shedding last season’s baggage, and the Raumdeuter wants us to take note.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s dominant 4-0 win over SSV Ulm in the DFB-Pokal? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we break down the starting XI, the scoring and subs, who stood out vs. who fell short, the Leon Goretzka situation, and a whole lot more. Check out the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
